Microsoft Books

I work with spreadsheets in my job everyday. I understand the basics and understand what they are supposed to do but sometime I have trouble making them work right. Since my technical expertise lies in other places I need a helping hand and being on the phone for hours is the answer.

Laurie Ann Ulrich has put together a 350 page-troubleshooting guide that takes the mystery out of the spreadsheet world. Ulrich's book covers both the Excel 97 and Excel 2000 applications and Ulrich may have saved me countless hours of frustration.

Tackling areas like charts, formatting of data, dates, shapes and lines, exporting and importing of data, filtering text and formatting numbers, formulas, maps, macros, printing and sorting have given the ability to provide better support to the user community.

The book includes screenshots and a whole host of ideas in a flow chart style of troubleshooting. Ulrich's compilation of methods are certainly some of the best ways to fix problems and this book is for the beginner to intermediate user, however even the most experienced user may be able to benefit.

This is a really practical book. It covers all the things that could go wrong for just about anyone who's using Excel. I work in an office where its only me and two other people who use spreadsheets, and nobody is really an expert. When things go wrong, therefore, there isn't anyone to call and ask - BUT now I have this book! The book makes it really easy to identify your problem and find its solution, and you can learn a lot just by reading through the book even if you don't have a problem. I've uncovered new ways to do things we thought we were doing right, and I found out about features I didn't even know the software had. The author really knows how REAL people use Excel and the examples show it. You can instantly apply what you've read to your own work. I recommend this book to Excel users, both new and experienced. Nobody who uses Excel should be without it!

Containing great humor and experience(!), this book is written mainly for users of Windows XP/ME/and 98, although users of Windows 95/NT/and especially 2000 will find that most of this 1st edition still applies. 2nd edition= XP exclusively. Dan Gookin wrote the original Dos for Dummies book- all Dummies books started with him! Chapters 1-5 cover the basics, with 6-and-on being intense! This is the strength of the book: hands-on, down & dirty problem solving! Solutions include: getting around in Windows; minor irks & quirks; slow PC; audio-video; startup-shutdown; keyboard, mouse, monitor & printer; disk disaster; internet connection; Internet Explorer; Outlook Express; general Windows disruption- too much to list here! (This is mainly a software-related book- for an intro to detailed hardware-related issues, I highly recommend Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies by Andy Rathbone, or for advanced issues Scott Mueller's Upgrading & Repairing PCs). My favorite thing here: Registry Editing 101! Many books mention the Registry- Dan actually walks you through some basic, yet sometimes necessary, editing procedures in a few very specific instances. This is beyond basic info, and is downright technical in nature. It's insane how much information he's crammed into one book! Finishing Chapters include PM- preventive maintenance- for disks in general, and using Backup. I use Norton Ghost for Backup myself- I can't stress enough how great it is! You can get it with Norton AntiVirus too if you purchase SystemWorks 2003 Professional (my favorite!). They're all worth their weight in gold(!). To Dan Gookin: In a good-natured way, I recommend Argument 4 in favor of reinstalling Windows: it brings peace of mind! With all the latest Internet threats today in the news- Viruses, Worms & Spyware- some people just don't trust that their computers are clean & secure without the reinstalling of Windows(!). Of course, with the proper use of disk imaging/backup software, this really shouldn't be an issue, but some people never get around to this kind of PM. Some people may not trust AntiVirus/Spyware apps to work for them, and reinstalling Windows can bring enormous peace of mind. Don't blame me for mentioning it- paranoia can be a powerful thing! Suggestions for next edition: maybe in PM section & Internet disaster prevention, including basic definitions & tips on safe Internet use? Phishing, Pharming, Identity Theft & Email-scams may not *directly* damage computers, but they sure do affect their users(!). Also- How about advanced videogame troubleshooting? Even people with up-to-date hardware experience crashes & restarts during games. In the Windows 2000 Getting Started book, a common solution to blue-screen stop messages is to "Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing". Believe it or not, it worked for me! Far fewer crashes during fast moving video & videogames. These are my best suggestions! Thank you for this incredible & long-overdue book!

I bought this book before I experimented with other books of it's kind and I was able to apply what I read within minutes to my broken computer. I have over 15 years experience as an Electronic Technician and 4 years experience as a Design Engineer and I learned something new from each and every page I studied. I was able to "laugh" at my fear of PC repair after reading this book. He covers everything from start-up problems to fixing bugs and everything in between. This book was so easy to read too! It was a welcomed relief from the over-complicated articles that I usually read. Thank you Dan Gookin!

Well it's now 1998, and Bristol Computing has jumped on the growing Microsoft lawsuit pile with another claim that something is rotten in Redmond. The contentious arguments have now moved to the issue of the Win32 API, an issue Andrew Shulman first discussed in his investigative masterpiece, "Undocumented Windows".

If there is a Microsoft monopoly it is that they have total, proprietary, 100% control of the API to which the majority of computer applications are written. The 1992 publication of "Undocumented Windows" revealed for the first time that there was no "Chinese Wall" between Microsoft OS development, and Microsoft Application development. The playing field was indeed not level. Shulman also discovered the reprehensible methodology of using arbitrary changes to low level system calls, the "shared dll's", to spike the performance of competing applications.

As they used to say in Redmond, "Windows isn't done until Lotus won't run".

The Windows OS triumphed over the more sophisticated and capable Mac, and the powerful but balkanized UNIX environment, because of the vast selection of shrink wrapped applications offered.

The Microsoft strategy of providing an open platform GUI, promised both an open Hardware Reference and an open API.

Yes, the Win32 API was sold to eager third party developers as an open platform. Microsoft subsequently captured the mindshare and investment efforts of most third party developers by providing an effective access bridge to an highly competitive hardware development community. Shulman's work proved that while the hardware reference was open, the API was not.

Since then, investors and developers have come to realize that all opportunities on the Windows platform belong to Microsoft. It is just a matter of time, time which is measured by Microsoft first encouraging third party developers in their efforts to grow a new application category, then by their moving in to seize the opportunity once the category proves profitable.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Shulman's work is that he explains in detail his investigative methods. The book also comes with an API sniffer utility so that developers can prove for themselves the shenanigans they must contend with.

Undocumented Windows remains a good read and goes a long way towards explaining the two defining developments of technology in the 90's. The unstoppable (but most predictable) application dominance by Microsoft has come to pass. And, seeking opportunities elsewhere, the Internet gold rush of investors and developers in 1994.

Revie

This new addition to the Wiley Microsoft Leadership Series provides an updated perspective, not only for business leaders, but for executives, managers and leaders of all types of organizations. Whether we work in public libraries or for Hewlett Packard, communication in the digital age is a challenge!

Authors Lojeski and Riley present a timely, innovative response to workplace teams. Their virtual distance model cleverly intertwines the threads of physical distance, affinity distance, and operational distance into a visual shape that helps to understand the broader picture of today's workplace and its impact on work success or failure.

The reader learns about the history of the notion of teamwork. This context is not only relevant to corporate society, but all societies where work is done, both the private sector and the non-profit and government sectors. The discussion of pre-Industrial Age teams and Guilds to the teamwork models of today conveys a chronology of the past that helps to put the workplace of today in clearer perspective. The authors state: `...it is no longer possible that virtual workers build emotional ties to one another in the ways that people have done for centuries. The loose organizations of the Digital Age are not usually built for this purpose." This is a thought-provoking insight encouraging all leaders to take more responsibility for bridging the "affinity distance" gap.

Overall, I recommend this work to all readers currently in the workforce, not just managers, not just students, not just academics. This is a book that "takes the reader aside" to reflect on where we've been in the workplace, what we're grappling with now in the digital age, and what might be our path into the future.

Having worked for the better part of my career with widely scattered teams with and without the benefit (??) of technology, I can attest that Virtual Distance is real. I experienced it as well when working in a building with over 200 cubicle-mates. Authors Karen Sobel Lojeski and Richard Reilly have finally put a name to the problem businesses have been struggling with for years. As they so aptly point out, we are still reaching for the old paradigms and they are not working. There are other books available that attempt to address this problem without fully understanding the complex ramifications. This is the book to read. Virtual Distance is not limited to the workforce, it is an issue that affects the very core of our interpersonal relationships.

This is one of my all time favorite books because it covers an important subject of integrating Windows and UNIX systems on the same network. The picture on the book's cover shows a rock climber straddling two vertical cliffs, a perfectly appropriate metaphor for the daunting task of maintaining interoperability.

Three of the four authors either teach or support Georgia Tech's computers, and that may account for the book's tendency to focus on teaching rather than simply providing how-to's. For example, rather than showering a book with screenshots and lists, it contains a chapter on system planning, another on backup methodologies, another on file systems and another on upgrades and change management. This is actually a book that you might actually enjoy bringing to the beach with you; it's something you can read straight through rather than referring to it merely as a reference guide. I have several guides on linux and windows, and can safely say that while this book doesn't always cover a subject in depth, it provides enough to get started. I especially found helpful, for instance, its discussion of amanda, a unix backup solution (which definitely justified the space they spent on it), setting up nfs, setting up wins (with windows or through samba) user administration and dns.

The danger of this kind of book is that in attempting to cover all the variants of UNIX and Windows, it instead delivers a shallow treatment of them all. Luckily, that is not the case. Probably 40% of the book was about Windows implementations, and of the remaining 60%, 20% covered Linux, 20% covered Solaris and 20% covered other flavors such as HP-Unix and BSD.

Probably the most helpful thing about the book is how it juxtaposes the Windows way of doing things with its Unix counterpart. For me, I had quite a bit of linux knowledge, so I actually was very curious about the Windows way of doing things. Often it helps to see how a task is done in both systems.

While I generally love this book, I wanted to mention another excellent book for Windows 2000, the Ultimate Windows 2000 System Administration Guide by Robert Williams and Mark Walla(there are probably several others by now). I also wanted to see other topics: an emphasis on production-ready open source applications rather than on commercial solutions. The email section should have discussed postfix rather than sendmail. Although there are already several excellent guides on samba out there, I would have like to seen a discussion of more complex scenarios here. Also, I would have liked to see a chapter on dual boot systems, windows emulation programs and things like vmware or wine. Apache wasn't covered too much in depth, and neither was IIS, but it was nice to read a short introduction in 10 or so pages. I would have enjoyed a comparison between platforms for performance and security and how they figure into deployment decisions. A future edition should also talk about UNIX web gui's like Webmin.

As a long time MCSE and CNE, my clients with UNIX have wanted me to help them integrate NT with UNIX. Prior to finding this book I was hesitant, but after reading it it didn't seem so complicated and should lead to increased revenue. Most recommended if you want to make more money by doing your job better without the usual nightmares.

As expected, this is a top notch book. Includes the information I was expecting, and a little bonus: not only can you install the VB.NET Core Classes information, but the CD that comes with this book includes all the information (for integration into VS.NET) for the VB.NET Language Reference, also by O'Reilly. So, while you only get the hard-copy of one book, you get the information of two. Quite a deal.

Okay--I don't dream in code often, and I don't make a living by programming. I do it for fun. I don't have any of the expensive versions of Visual Studio--just the "Standard", cheapie one.

With that said, I love having the framework laid out for me. The fact that it integrates into VS is a big plus. And, if you're undecided, here's a little tip--you can install the VB.NET Core Classes information *AND* the VB.NET Language reference into VS with this CD. I imagine that the VB.NET Language Reference is the same way. Whatever, for the price of one, you get two (albeit only on hardcopy version).

So--well worth the money. I love it.

Whenever I need some help with Visual Basic.net, this is the first source that I use. Sometimes it is better than the on-line help. I would supplement this book with the "Visual Basic.Net: The Complete Reference" book. I would highly recommend that both books be added to your Visual Basic.Net reference library. Although not as fast as the on-line help, the book provides better answers to your Visual Basic.Net questions. The only error that I found is ADO.Net becomes ADO.Next in the chapter on ADO.Net. Must have been the publisher.

I am not a professional programmer so I need all the help I can get. I was stuck trying to get the Long Date format to work correctly so I consulted the help menu in VB.NET and all that provided was information that was incorrect and or that I could not implement correctly so I picked up my new copy of Programmerýs reference and found the solution within seconds. I use the previous version Programmerýs reference for VB6 and it also is an excellent resource. Both of these books by Dan Rahmel have MORE information that I can use in the real world than several of the 1500 page books on my shelves.
Lloyd Gregory techrep@lloydgregory.com

I'm in a class that uses this book as the text. I am very impressed with the step-by-step instruction. The text doesn't assume anything and yet, it doesn't insult my intelligence.

Very well-written, easy to follow, and confidence inspiring.

Well done, Mr. Mostafavi!

This is an introductory book on programming in Visual Basic 2005. However it does presume that you have programmed before on some kind of system. It doesn't matter which language, but the basic concept of writing commands, logic, and so on should be familiar to the reader. To be sure, he does give a bit of instruction into basic programming principles, but it is pretty basic.

Next he goes into a description of Visual Studio which is used to program in several Microsoft languages. Then on to writing programs. He leads you through the writing of a pretty basic program. While basic in nature this program covers a lot of the principles of programming. By the end of the chapter, you've put a small window on your screen.

Throughout the book he uses a series of extentions to the little program, and by the end of the book you should have a pretty good understanding of the language.

I'm an experienced programmer although I'm just learning VB. This book is essential to becoming productive quickly.

Being a VB Consultant and a VB Teacher, I've had the opportunity to go through many VB books. By far, VB4 Unleashed is the best. If you're already a good VB programmer, VB4 Unleashed will take you further. You'll learn how-to easily add sound (.wav) to your applications, how-to make screen savers, and even help files. Best part is that there is NO need to purchase any additional third-party controls in order to use the examples. (E.G. Learn Visual Basic in 21 days requires purchase of 3rd party OCX controls to use many of the examples.) I highly recommend this book. Kevin Scott, Visual Basic Application Developer, First Logic Inc.

I just love this book. Few years back I got this book when I was working as FoxPro programmer creating only simple forms and saving data into FoxPro tables. Once I got this book, it changed my life, and I started moving away from windows application after four years of programming and started learning more about web.

I created few e-commerce sites that year, and now I work as senior application developer for #1 web development company (Mercury Web Solutions) in Albany NY where I do mostly ASP.NET (C#) development and create Content Management System (CMS).

I think Noel did a good job writing this book. The code is well laid out. Code is reusable, and above all it doesnt tie you lot into registering DLLs. The only minus is for not having the full code on the CD which is mentioned in the book.
Over all its a good reference for beginners to mid level programmers.

This book bring me from Intermediate level into advanced level.
It shows you all real useful examples by utilizing ASP, VB, Db design, and Stored Procedures calls. It's kind of learning how real-world sophisticated shoppong sites(like amazon.com) are created. I am very happy with the book. If you want to become a professional web developer, or learn how to design a data-driven web site, the book is what you want.

I recommend that the book is for Intermediate level who has some experiences in VB, SQL Server.

Although title says developer's guide but it makes a reader from novice to developer. Before that e-commerce was complicated,difficult even reading other books makes you confuse more about the subject but after reading this whole concept becomes clear. In my opinion Only prerequisite for reading this book is some databases experiance, it will accelarate if reader have experiance in Access, Sql server. The 99 percent Use of stored procedure is one of the greatest thing by Noel. I have built my web site base on concept and examples given in this book. Though there might be some minor errors but I think they make you learn and eventualy they make you master the vb script, stored procedure and concept.
I congrulate Noel and request him to upgrade this book to Asp.net and vb.net as well as other of his book named e-commerce developer's guide to building community tools.

Thanks Noel

I agree with many reviewers of this book that there are simply too many errors. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is devoted to the development of a website. The second part is devoted to the management of a website. It is in the second part of this book that one would find a majority of the errors.

Most of the errors I found are simple typos, such as on page 413 the author forgot to close an input tag. There are some many of these types of errors that I grew accustomed to finding them whenever I tested the codes.

Some errors I found are logical errors. They consumed a lot of my time whenever I tried to fix them. Take for example; on page 466 the author did not include codes to clear several option variables. Thus, each time a new loop was performed, the option variables still contained old values from the previous loop. This produced very unexpected results. Once I added my own codes to clear the option variables before a new loop, the problem was solved.

It became clear to me that the author had not tested the codes because if he had, he would have discovered the same errors.

Use this book as a learning tool. But proceed with caution as it is plagued with many errors.